Animal
Blacktip reef shark
A shallow-reef inhabitant with a black tip on its dorsal fin.
Idioma del contenido
A triangular dorsal fin with a black tip is a distinctive mark of the blacktip reef shark. In the wild, it often swims in water so shallow that the fin rises above the surface. It does not need to descend into the ocean depths to find a suitable habitat. The species inhabits Indo-Pacific waters around coral reefs, using lagoons and reef edges where it can find fish to eat.
It hunts small fish, octopuses and prawns, and may also eat carrion. This diet connects it with several kinds of reef inhabitants, from small vertebrates to invertebrates. The shark is live-bearing: a female gives birth to living young instead of laying egg cases on the seabed. Łódź Zoo gives a litter size of two to five pups.
Threats include accidental entanglement in fishing nets, known as bycatch, along with reef degradation and reduced food supplies. Sharks are also caught for their fins and liver oil. At the Orientarium, blacktip reef sharks inhabit the large ocean tanks. Walking through the tunnel offers a view of the fish from below the water’s surface.
Para niños
The black tip of its dorsal fin helps you recognise this shark. Blacktip reef sharks live around coral reefs in the wild. Sometimes the water is so shallow that their dorsal fins rise above the surface.
On a reef, they find small fish, prawns and octopuses. All of these can be part of their diet. A female does not leave egg cases on the seabed: she gives birth to living young. A litter can contain between two and five pups.
Sharks need healthy reefs and enough food. Sometimes they are accidentally caught in fishing nets. In the Orientarium, you watch them through the glass of large tanks and from the tunnel. Try spotting the dark tip of a fin when one of the sharks swims nearby.
Pregunta 1 de 2
Which feature of the dorsal fin helps identify this species?
- Ubicación
- Orientarium, ocean zone, large tank beside the tunnel.